Hello everyone. On the eve of today's iPhone 5 for T-Mobile announcement, I see Apple is releasing a tweaked iPhone 5 model. What is the AWS model? Should I be worried? I currently have an AT&T 16GB iPhone 5. Should I buy a new one? Thanks.

If you live in an Edge area that is just outside of a 3G coverage area, the AWS iPhone will extend your 3G coverage area. I live in an Edge area for an unlocked iphone but my a TMO Galaxy S3 on AWS gets great HSPA+ speeds.

Is there going to be any way to differentiate the AWS iPhone? I am not switching from AT&T to T-Mobile.

Only difference between the ATT/factory unlocked iPhone 5 sold now and the ones sold after April 12 is the AWS capabilities. No upped processor or anything new. If you're on ATT and are staying there, this will do nothing for you.

Will there be anyway to really differentiate the 2 iPhones? So my iPhone 5 is still the latest iPhone? I always need to have the latest model. I know it sounds ridiculous but I have OCD. I'm not afraid to admit it, haha.

It will have the same hardware (aside from the AWS chip), same processor, same RAM, same screen. Only difference is one will work on T-Mobile's AWS 3G network and the other will only get Edge. Again, being on ATT, this will mean nothing for you.

AWS stands for "All Will Surrender." It basically means that if an AWS iPhone detects your iPhone in close proximity, it can remotely corrupt your data and fry your hardware if the AWS owner chooses to activate that setting. The AWS chip works in a similar fashion to the NFC technology, but its applications are potentially far more sinister. You can protect your iPhone with specially designed tin foil cases, which I'm sure will be sold everywhere now that the AWS iPhone has been announced. Stay safe!

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Originally Posted by nickprete11

Will there be anyway to really differentiate the 2 iPhones? So my iPhone 5 is still the latest iPhone? I always need to have the latest model. I know it sounds ridiculous but I have OCD. I'm not afraid to admit it, haha.

It will have the same hardware (aside from the AWS chip), same processor, same RAM, same screen. Only difference is one will work on T-Mobile's AWS 3G network and the other will only get Edge. Again, being on ATT, this will mean nothing for you.

I live in an area where there is good 3G/4G coverage but it hasn't been refarmed. And T-Mobile is mum on what has been officially refarmed, what they are working on currently, and what will come. Only info we have is the unofficial map (airportal.de) and near where I live there was only 1 report and that one report was about 10 miles from where I live.

Will these models have any way to tell if they are different from my current iPhone 5 on AT&T?

It'll say "T-Mobile" in the upper left corner of the screen. And it will be faster than your current phone, which is now the old version. An upgrade, no matter how big or small, is an upgrade. You don't have the latest phone. If you have the AWS, people will know (because you will tell them). You should sell your old version iPhone 5 soon before the value drops a lot.

You're welcome!! Be sure to sell your old iPhone quick, you don't want to miss out when the AWS is released! They're probably going to sell out VERY quickly, so you should make plans to get to your local store very early in the morning (if not a day or 2 in advance). I will be, as well as almost everyone I know.

Then why can't the current model be updated if it doesn't have anything to do with the hardware itself? Should be possible to do a firmware update on an existing device that would otherwise support the functionality.

Then why can't the current model be updated if it doesn't have anything to do with the hardware itself? Should be possible to do a firmware update on an existing device that would otherwise support the functionality.

Who knows. Apple decided not to get it re-certified with the FCC. It makes no sense to me why they didn't do that and just enable it in a software update. But the FCC filing for the AWS enabled version make it clear the hardware is the same.